


Spilled Secrets (Never Work)

by DeductionIsKey



Series: In Loco Parentis [5]
Category: Avengers - All Media Types, Captain America - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, He's Just a Smol That Did Nothing Wrong, Peter Doesn't Deserve This, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, help him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 09:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14133525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeductionIsKey/pseuds/DeductionIsKey
Summary: Based off a prompt from MrsSparkle1: ”The Avengers team isn’t the only ones who noticed Tony being parental to Peter, the Media smells something fishy and does what it does best: rumours and speculation.”Unsurprisingly, it was the Bugle who had started all of this. Also expected, Tony and Peter were literally the only people surprised.Then, to make matters worse, the Media begins to make the connection between a certain red-webbed vigilante and that nerdy schoolboy, and Peter starts to run out of time.This is not a drill.





	Spilled Secrets (Never Work)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome back to the terrible works that I have massive writer's block for.. oops??
> 
> I hope you lovely readers find this tolerable..

Unsurprisingly, it was the Bugle that started all of this. One of those stealthy half-stalkers, half-scoop hybrid had been hiding in a bush or something, when he had gotten the idea that Peter was a bit more than an intern that Stark was apprenticing. The recognition was in the cheekbones, his article proclaimed, and if you knew where to look, in the eyes. Not to mention the fierce intelligence that seemed to hover over the boy. How could he  _ not  _ be Tony Stark’s illegitimate son? 

-

_ “Tony Stark’s Interns: Bias or Blood?” _

 

_ Tony Stark could be passing his legacy on, but not to who you think. I myself had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Stark quite a long time ago, and we warmed up to each other instantly. But with Tony Stark’s multi-million dollar company, as well as many other largely successful projections, comes the, quite literal, million dollar question we’ll all asking. Who is Tony Stark’s heir? Who will continue on the Stark family legacy, as Anthony was to Howard?  _

 

_ Well, my dear readers, I may have the answer for that. Meet Peter Parker, a boy who, just like all the other privately funded interns of Stark Industries get to spend, though limited, personal time with the image himself. Or it is limited? My readers, image my astonishment when I inquired around and heard that Mr. Parker spends at least 6+ hours in Mr. Stark’s personal penthouse!  _

 

_ Parker himself is practically a walking charity case. With his mother and father dying while he was still a child, Mr. Parker was raised primarily by his Aunt and Uncle Benjamin and May. Why, then, has Mr. Stark not mentioned him before? Is this all a misunderstanding, or has Stark found himself a protege? Learn more, dear readers, right here, at Bugle News. _

 

_ - _

 

“Why did I not know about this sooner?” Tony said, throwing the gossip magazine down onto the table. 

 

“I don’t know, sir. It was just published yesterday, and it’s already been viewed over 20,000 times, with other news article using it as a source-”

 

“I don’t care how many times it’s been viewed! Contact my lawyers and get it down off the website!”

-

 

And so, down it went. But, despite Tony’s best efforts, 20,000 people were quite adamant about this particular clump of media, and so up went the forums, and the blogs, and the fanfiction. 

 

It was an unconquerable monster by Thursday. 

 

Soon, CNN was talking about it, and the New York Times, and dozens of others Tony wasn’t even aware  _ had _ gossip columns. Everyone was buzzing with this poor boy in Queen called Peter Parker. He was a genius, his science experiment in 8th Grade had proved that. He’d had a sad childhood, Buzzfeed ate it up. He’d struggled with being bullied, The Washington Post sobbed. 

 

He was like a collector’s edition of Death Note in a land with no Death Note. 

 

And he never stood a chance. 

-

Peter only found out about the new article from Ned.

 

At one a.m. 

 

On a Sunday night.

 

“Peter! Peter, you’re on the news!” Ned’s voice was grating through the speaker of Peter’s new Stark Phone, causing him to wince. 

 

“Ned, I’m always on the news. Why are you still up? Go to bed, dude.” He was about to end the call, when Ned hissed back at him: 

 

“No, Peter, not Spider-Man. You, like Peter Parker.” 

 

Alarmed, Peter had sat up in bed and pressed on the TV, flipping through the channels until he reached the Daily News. To his ashtoniment, the headline that greeted clearly read Peter Parker.

 

Aunt May was not happy. 

-

Apparently, even places of education cared about stupid things like himself maybe being the heir to a multi-million dollar company. That didn’t make sense at all. Everyone was yearning to catch a glimpse of some journalist, just so they could spill the beans about the party that Mr. Stark had thrown, and the donations. Maybe they wanted to get a couple extra dollars in their pockets. All Peter knew was that it was very, very annoying. 

-

“Mr. Stark, I’m sorry I caused this. I should have been more careful, or more secretive, instead, I have parties in your house an-”

 

“You think this is your fault?” Tony said almost amused, waving his hand toward his pinging phone, with endless notifications. “This was going to happen eventually, kid. Might as well get it over with now.” 

 

Peter shrugged almost helplessly, slumping in a chair next to Tony, and only then did Tony look in depth at the dark circles under his eyes. 

 

“Hey, Peter. Peter!” Tony shook him awake. “You okay?”

 

“Um. Yeah. I’m fine.” Peter focused blearily on the figure that had disturbed him. “Fine, fine, fine, fine-”

 

“Okay, you’re going to bed,” Tony said, scooping him up almost like a ragdoll except with impressive body proportions and a squeaky voice. 

 

Tony couldn't carry Peter up the stairs. He only had one choice.

-

 

“Why is Peter in your bed?”

 

“I couldn’t carry him up the stairs,  _ Pepper. _ ”

 

“Oh.”

 

“...”

 

“You know you own like eight escalators right?”

 

-

 

After about a week and a half, things seem to have died down. Life was going back to normal, and people were living their lives again. 

 

The Bugle wasn’t. The following title greeted Peter as he woke up the next morning, printed red as it glared back at him with an almost accusative gaze.

 

_ Menace, or Intern?  _

_Peter Parker has been rumored to be Tony Stark's heir. But what if it's more than that? I have some verified evidence that may shock you, dear reade-_

 

It all seemed to blur as Peter slid down to the floor, all seemed to scarcely be possible. 

 

With nothing else left to do, Peter sat down, and cried. 

 

Across the city sat Tony Stark, blissfully unaware of the very article circling across the internet at that very moment.

 

His phone rang. 

 

On the other end was a crying teenage who's identity and confidence had just been shattered in an instant.

 

So, in the middle of the night, when the stars were just beginning to peep out of the clouds, Tony Stark, the world's most selfish man, sat down and listened. 

 

This was not a drill.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I live for comments and kudos, tbh. Pretty please?


End file.
